GFetishes
(( work in progress )) What Is A Fetish? Fetishes are crafted treasures that are created by knowledgeable shamans. They contain spirits which are willingly or unwillingly bound into service. Each fetish is a weapon, talisman or tool with a specific purpose that reflects the nature of the spirit houses within. Talens are lesser objects where the spirit is bound only for a short time to lend their power just once. Becoming a fetish offers some advantages to a spirit as well. Being encased in a material object protects the spirit from the myriad dangers of the Umbra. The spirit also has the opportunity to influence and guide the Garou, furthering its own purpose or its brood's goals on the material plane. Garou are not the only creators of fetishes. Other Changing Breeds are capable of crafting and using fetishes- Corax are notorious, for example, of stealing fetishes from the Garou which can lead to bloodshed as Garou will typically kill to protect their "territory" and a fetish is often a Garou's most valuable possession. Making Fetishes Crafting fetishes is time-consuming and requires a foundation of spirit lore, gifts & rites, and artistic skill in the making of the vessel. Spirits will only choose to join items that contain one or more of their material correspondence. For example, an eagle spirit might enter a staff decorated with eagle feathers or a stone with an eagle image carved into it. The higher the quality of the item, and the greater the number of correspondences with the spirit, the more likely the spirit will be to accept bonding with the item. Tending A Fetish Convincing a spirit to enter a fetish takes a great deal of work. Most spirits are not willing to join with a fetish, unless the creator will provide chiminage and go out of their way to appease the whims of the spirit. The spirit must be convinced that they can trust the Garou implicitly. While a spirit lies in a fetish, it exist in a state of half-Slumber. It cannot be attacked or harmed directly, unless the fetish itself is destroyed. The spirit relies on the spirit of the Garou to activate its power through the fetish. Spirits will only remain in fetishes if they are treated with respect. Many fetishes require the highest degree of care. For example, most spirits within klaives demand that the blood of their enemies be cleaned from their blades before they are sheathed. Some require thanks after they are used. Individual spirits have a variety of individual demands. Fetish Ranks Talens Rank 1 Level One fetishes are useful, though not incredibly powerful, within the specific field they have been designed for. They typically have very limited use and may not be useful at all to some Garou. The creation of a Level One fetish is good "apprentice's work," useful practice in fetish-making with a handy (if not overly imposing) result. A cliath might be gifted with a rank one fetish shortly after their Rite of Passage as a gift from a mentor, earn one as a reward for extraordinary service, or be allowed to keep one that they recover during a mission but it is unlikely for them to have a more powerful fetish until they become a trusted member of the sept. Rank 2 Fetishes that can act on their own as a solution to a problem in limited circumstances are at least Level Two. Level Two fetishes rarely get much use, but when they are needed can be an invaluable help. Fetish weapons of this level are as effective as a Garou's natural weaponry at best. Creating and bearing a fetish of this level will earn you raised eyebrows of respect. Rank 3 If a fetish has enough versatility to be of use in a variety of situations, then it's probably Level Three or above. Fetish weapons at this level begin to have useful effects that make them often preferable to claws and teeth (such as the Fang Dagger) while non-weapon fetishes have uses that are universal enough to see a lot of use. (The Baneskin is a good example here. Tracking down one specific spirit is sometimes useful, but Garou run into Banes enough to make a Baneskin highly attractive.) Creating and bearing a fetish of this level will earn you admirers seeking advice. Rank 4 Level Four fetishes go beyond this and produce unusual and potent effects over a sustained period, such as a Monkey Puzzle, or have devastating singular effects, like a Spirit Whistle. Fetish weapons at this level are extremely dangerous even to other Garou, and merely presenting one will bring any Garou with some sense to reconsider his actions. Fetishes at this level, particularly weapons, are part of the myth of the bearer and often become a suffix to their owner's name. ("Mourns-the-Dead, carrying the Edge of Dusk with her....") Rank 5 A fetish of Level Five stature is the greatest of the great. Much like Gnosis 8 fetishes, if it's flat out too powerful to consider in anything below, then this is here it goes. There shouldn't be any debate over what constitutes a Level Five fetish, since if there is it's likely not powerful enough to be worth Level Five. A nonweapon fetish of this caliber can work miracles, and producing such a weapon as this can bring a whole pack to reconsider their actions. Rank 6 Level Six fetishes are greater than the greatest of the great. Garou do not make these fetishes of their own accord — that implies that they had control over their creation. Instead, sometimes one may somehow be involved in its creation. Often these fetishes are created by Incarnae from one of their most trusted servants, or from a part of itself, or even giving itself over to the fetish entirely of its own volition. They are legends that pass down through the centuries, can never be replicated, hardly even understood. They wreck the lives of those seeking them, and make the lives of those finding them. Needless to say, helping to create one of these fetishes would be the goal of an entire chronicle rather than a part of one, and such creation is better adjudicated by story and drama rather than rules. Creating Unique Fetishes List of Bandaiyan Fetishes Existing Fetishes In Great Divide<